2022 Heck-Kitty Redeye

[njsteve]

So I wrote an email to the CEO of Dodge with my observations and evidence like this:

The dash display from the just delivered, 30-mile 2023 Narrowbody Redeye Jailbreak

[njsteve]

And this:
1) The window sticker portion from a 2023 Widebody Redeye Jailbreak
2) The window sticker portion from a 2023 Narrowbody Redeye Jailbreak

[njsteve]

And what happened?

On 2/2/23, within 12 hours of my email going out, the Dodge website gets revised to show the horsepower rating has been "adjusted" downward to 797.

[A12pilot]

What's the consensus as to why, Steve? Any reply from them other than "Dear Enthusiast..."

Cheers
Dave

[njsteve]

So, since I placed an order on 11/1/2022 under the impression that I was going to get a "one of 29 to be made" Narrowbody Hellcat Redeye Jailbreak with the highest horsepower (807) version engine available, as a last call edition, I was sadly mistaken.

The bottom line is that if I continued with this order, all I would be getting for around $20K more than my currently paid for, 2022 797 hp Narrowbody Redeye, would be a different color version of my same exact car I have now with no upgraded engine.

The funny thing about this whole 807 vs 797 horsepower issue is that it is entirely due to the different engine controller that raises the fuel shutoff redline point by a mere 100 rpm.

They are the same exact engine (that actually puts out 812 hp at 6400 per the official SAE certification reports)

These are the 2019 to present Redeye specs from the SAE Test report:

793 HP @ 6200rpm measured (+79 HP), 797 HP @ 6300rpm advertised, 812 HP @ 6400rpm measured
709 TQ @ 4800rpm measured (+57 TQ), 707 TQ @ 4500rpm advertised, 719 TQ @ 4800rpm measured


And these are the 2020-23 Super Stock/Jailbreak specs:

793 HP @ 6200rpm measured (+79 HP), 807 HP @ 6400rpm advertised, 812 HP @ 6400rpm measured
709 TQ @ 4800rpm measured (+57 TQ), 707 TQ @ 4500rpm advertised, 719 TQ @ 4800rpm measured


Same exact engine rated 100 rpm higher, gets you the extra 10 horses...and in reality they both achieved 812 during the tests at 6,400 rpm.

[njsteve]

Originally Posted by A12pilot

What's the consensus as to why, Steve? Any reply from them other than "Dear Enthusiast..."

Cheers
Dave

The PR side of Dodge doesn't seem to be speaking to the engineering side is probably what it boils down to.

I had some entertaining emails with the CEO last summer when I sent a nice email thanking them for building my 2022 so quickly and casually asking why it was missing the specific Hellcat owners manual. We traded several emails about our old Mopars over the years and current ones we both owned. He had no idea the printing company failed to deliver the manuals in the owners packet and he started a campaign to have one sent to every purchaser. A similar example of a prior problem that no one at the top knew was occurring.

I am awaiting an actual response from him but the immediate "updating" of the Dodge website shows he started the ball rolling.

In my email I jokingly said I was having flashbacks of the 1999 Mustang Cobra debacle Ford had to deal with when they sold the Cobra with a specifc 320 HP rating and all the purchasers wondered why it was a half second slower than the previous version, and dyno testing showed it was down by 50 horsepower under their advertised rating. Ford was forced to recall 5,300 Cobras to replace the intake manifold and exhaust system on every one to get back to the advertised rating. That must have cost them well into the 8-figures to do between the parts, service costs and legal expenses.

I guess the real interesting issue is that there are 31 of these cars already built and delivered (or on their way) and those buyers relied on the "807" advertising for their purchase decision. I wonder how that will shake out? Oh, and I almost forgot, Dodge keeps updating the allocation for all the special Jailbreak models and keeps adding more and more units to the list. There are 31 narrowbody Redeye Jailbreaks built as of this morning and the website just popped up another 26 allocations as being available. So who knows how many they will actually make, which dilutes the rarity even further. https://www.dodgegarage.com/horsepower-locator

So in the end I am happy to stick with my 1 of 10 Red-on-Red-Redeyes. And the wife is REALLY happy since she loves this color....

....hmmmm this makes me wonder if this whole conflagration is some elaborate conspiracy by the wife to keep me from buying a purple version????

This may explain why she has been telling me to refer to her as the CEO of our house.

[70 Forest Green Zee]

So you're gonna cancel the order over 10 hp for a car that you drive on the street and sparingly? Is that extra 10 horse power really that important that you would cancel the order??? Seems like kind of a silly reason to me!

[njsteve]

They are charging a ton of extra money for the final year Jailbreak package which was supposed to give you the extra componentry to get the 807hp level with a full 3/36 and 5/50 powertrain warranty.

Now that they have dropped it to the previous 2022 model year's 797 rating, they have NOT dropped the price to reflect the difference. On the widebody Redeye Jailbreak and the Superstock, you are paying that extra money to "unlock" an entire menu of extra interior, trim, stripes, and axle ratio options in addition to the different engine management software that allows for the extra 10 hp. On the narrow body, all that extra money gets you now, is a choice of three more exterior paint colors than they had in 2022: Sublime, Plum Crazy and Destroyer Grey. You can't even order the 3.09 rear gear any more on the narrow body.

For example if you wanted to add that missing high performance controller through the (still NOT available but advertised as available) Direct Connection Pre-Stage and Stage 1 packages, you would have to pay around $2,000 extra and your warranty would be voided.

The 807 rating on a factory built car means the car has its full warranty as a brand new car.

It's also the bragging rights and future value of the last of these cars at the highest HP rating ever. Since it is the same car as my 2022 but in a different color there is no reason to give up the 2022 that I got at a really good price ($10K under sticker) to buy a purple one at a much higher full sticker price. (around $20k more after sales tax, etc). So basically I'd be paying $20K over the cost of my 2022 for purple paint. My son said I could wrap it in purple for around $3K and give him the difference. LOL

Kind of like ordering a 1967 L88 Corvette but what shows up at the dealer is a 1967 L71 Corvette. That was only a 5hp difference on paper but a world of difference in collectibility and value.

[Too Many Projects]

Sorry to read this, Steve. I did doubt the final build count from the start, but having them screw with the ratings, costs and warranty is unethical.
In the end you have a better looking car now, IMHO

[turbo69bird]

I do t blame you at all, they just don’t really care about the consumer at dodge, I’ve written some scathing posts on the hellcat forums . When you ask 27 times to be 100 percent sure the Durango is gonna be a one year only. And 27 times the dealers swear it’s absolutely positively going to be a one year only. Then a year later they make another run I can assure you you are not very happy w that company and its dealer network and this wasn’t one dealer I asked it was many different dealers. That IS going to affect values down the road . If all I wanted was a fast car I’d have bought a model X or S Tesla plaid (which I did also) and smoked the crap out of the hellcats . I like my hellcat Durango but I’m not happy w Dodge at all. :-( They lie about so many things to perspective buyers too I’ve seen guys strung along for a long time that a car was going to be built only to find out it’s not getting built . That’s not right either . But my opinion is they owe you something for that change and damn sure owe the 22 Durango buyers something. Idk what but it should be something limited edition to add future value.